Welcome to Imythess, the border between dreams and reality. We hope you enjoy your visit.

Imythess is a creative writing board where you narrate the story of a character in the medieval land of Imythess, on the planet Chaon. Each topic is an opportunity for your character to interact with the world and its peoples by cooperatively writing pieces of a story with other members, one post at a time. We call this role-playing, because you assume the identity of your character as if it were your own.

In order to play, you must register an account for each character you would like to write about, and begin their tale by filling out their basic profile information: Race (human, elf, demon, etc.), class (warrior, mage, etc.), physical appearance, and any other personal details you would like to describe. You are also encouraged to come up with some background history information for what your character's life has been like up to the point at which their story in Imythess begins.

There is no approval process or application required to join, so long as you follow the rules then you are free to write whatever character details you choose. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.

Crazed Navy, actually chasing pirates into a storm that severe. Even for the Sacred Heart, there had to be a time when they should have given up just for self-preservation. The waves were as high as mountains. The sky was black in the late morning with the only light coming from flashes of lightning. The wind howled over the crashing sea. Water washed over the deck of the ship with force that Buddy had never felt before. Words had been lost the storm's wrathful roar, and it seemed unlikely that any of the deck's crew noticed when their captain was lost to the Moonsea. All that was left of his presence was Seasin which he had stabbed into the deck to try securing his stance against the raging conditions.

For all of Buddy's mastery of the sea, keeping track while trying not to drown was practically impossible. The very sea that Buddy loved was trying to drown him in its cold and dark embrace. His movements to survive were a mix between desperate thrashing and careful swimming. Every time he surfaced he desperately inhaled a mix of crisp air and salty water. Telling direction in the chilling abyss was a struggle, a game of life and death to follow the bubbles of breath escaping his mouth back to the surface just to begin the struggle of endurance all over again.

The vicious cycle repeated for what felt like an eternity, but like all things it came to an end. Fortunately for Captain Holly it was an end to his suffering but not to his life. One of the waves that had been throwing him around slammed him against the shore. Instinctively his fingers dug into the wet sand, barely finding purchase but slowing his return to the sea long enough for the wave to leave him behind. The pirate scrambled for the silhouette of a tree line, the shadow of hope for something to cling to. Buddy wrapped his arms around the tree with a grip that could have choked out an ogre in his desperation.

Somewhere between that point and the light of day, Buddy had lost consciousness. When he finally awoke, the storm was gone. In its place in the sky was that old familiar sight of the sun sharing its warmth with the world below. Buddy would have let out a sigh of relief if he were not still feeling absolutely miserable. He felt waterlogged, soaked through to the bone and his clothes were still heavy and wet with seawater.

There were no ships on the horizon, pirate, navy, or otherwise. No telling if there was anybody nearby, nor any signs of civilization on the shore. As far as Buddy could tell, he was completely alone.

It was unfortunate, but considering what he had somehow survived he was not going to waste time panicking. All he could do was hope that his crew survived and focus on making sure he would still be alive to meet up with them again once he figured out where he was and how to get back to his ship.

The first thing? To free himself of those soggy clothes. If he was not sick yet, then he definitely would be the longer he stayed weighed down and stewing in them, the more likely it would become that he would fall ill.

Silnimare awoke, the coarse feeling of sand against her pale skin. She could tell that most, if not all of her gear was missing. She had been attacked by some sort of storm mage. All she could remember was the feeling of lightning coursing through her body, then the silence of unconsciousness. She tried to lift herself up, only to realize her hands weren't moving. She slowly let her mark feed her info on her surroundings, when she came upon a troubling realization.Where is nine hells is the rest of my body?

She reached out with her senses, but... nothing. Suddenly, the disembodied redhead began cursing aloud, at the top of her... lungs?

"FREAKIN' SON OF A [removed] COVERED IN [removed] WHILE [removed] A [removed] [removed]ON A [removed]. WHY DON'T YOU JUST [removed] A [removed], YOU DUCK-WALKING [removed] OF A GOD'S [removed].... [REMOVED]!!!"

Her blindfold was gone, and she could feel the sand getting caught in the grooves of the scars on her face and eyes. She wasn't really sure how long it would take the rest of her body to find her. Maybe even days.

Well, it was not particularly ideal, but Buddy had grown accustomed to feeling a bit of being compromised since becoming a captain. There was never telling when or what would happen that might catch him off guard, and perhaps there was some semblance of good to be found in his ship being attacked so early in the morning. He had barely a thing to wear in such a mad rush to handle his assailants, and if his ship still sailed as he believed it did, then his belongings were mostly safe within his cabin.

Fat lot of good any of that would do him now, but without the distractions of a good nap to be had, and being about as well-rested as his cold, pale hide could expect, the nice warm glow getting him dried, cozy, and feeling healthy, he could use this wonderful opportunity to actually brush up on his acidic magicry. Really, the acid rain was a bit of a happy mishap of education, but it had served him almost infinitely well. If he wanted to live up to the moniker bestowed upon him, then he would need more than a painful drizzle and a fancy wyrm-tooth sword.

First thing to do, start with some stretches. Freed from the confines of clothing for the time being, his threads set upon a branch within reach and him down to nothing but his skivvies, he would need to prepare for some good old survival practice, lest something else be surviving off of his Ardanian corpse.

His stretches were interrupted as he startled to the sudden sound of a series of rather potent sailor speech. Cautiously he followed the noise, considering what form he should take to greet the stranger, but found himself without a clue as he saw the source. Nobody he knew or could see, just a head lying on the beach around the corner. What curious placement, but hardly an immediate threat unless its body was lurking nearby.

"Just my luck, all washed up with the head of a Dullahan cursing the world." Buddy sighed, approaching it without a care in the world. It was not a pretty sight despite its vaguely feminine appearance and sound, but perhaps in some stroke of luck it might be related to his current situation. He crouched down and went to lift it up by the hair, staring at its horribly scarred eyes, "Well then, best be out with it. Where'd your body head off to without you?"

Silnimare was beyond irritated at her current predicament. But she had to try to regain her composure. She knew that her body parts weren't too far away, or she would be not able to sense them. Suddenly, she was picked up by her hair by a strange man in his underwear. He called her a... Dula-something, and started asking her where her body was. However, as she often did with surprises, her sense of humor chose this moment of all to make an appearance.

"Pulling hair on the first date? How'd you know I liked a rough tumble? You must be a pirate or bandit, you rowdy boy, you."

She smirked, before gathering her composure.

"In seriousness though, I have no idea. I can sense bits and pieces, no pun intended, and I know the parts aren't too terribly far. Speaking of, any idea where I washed up on? Last thing I remember is that stupid storm mage hitting me with lightning or something."

She had no idea if this stranger was willing to help, and even if he wasn't, it shouldn't take more than a day or two for the pieces to come together. Until, she was at this stranger's mercy. She paused, before deciding to at least try to be more civil.

"My name is Silnimare. Any chance you could help me? I don't know if you're stranded too, but if you are, if I can get my body back together, I can help you get out of here."

"Don't be getting ahead of yourself, now." Buddy smirked at the quick-witted bodiless head dangling by the curly reds decorating her scalp, "I prefer full-bodied women who haven't lost their heads or let their bodies go."

Silnimare. Not a name that the blonde blaggard had ever heard of. She was some sailor from some ship who had apparently been caught up in the same bloody hurricane that he had and was claiming some storm caster was responsible. To some mixed thoughts, Buddy knew that the storm had been something that nature had been brewing well before he had tried leading his pursuers to it. If there was a particularly nasty finger-waggler out on a boat or some such, then they must have been tapping into the natural disastrous power of the storm to sling their bolts recklessly around.

"Well I don't know about you, but if we're on an island I could make a raft and navigate my way back to proper shore. Wouldn't be my first time, and it probably won't be my last." Buddy explained, standing up tall and straight but keeping the head at eye level, for all the good that must have done to a blind sixth-sense using undead like this, "So you see, my problem is that you get a lot more out of me helping you than I would get from helping you. Not exactly a fair trade, and I don't know you well enough to be doing any favors, so what else have you got for barter?"

Silnimare narrowed her scarred eyes slightly, a meaningless carry-over from her childhood. She laughed for a moment, a good hearted chuckle, before silently and without gesture casting a spell upon Buddy that would remove his sense of direction, and be unable to find his way. She continued laughing heartily, before replying,

"I don't know about "nothing" to barter with. But sure, go ahead, try and leave me here. See how far you really get on your own. I don't doubt your skill, but I think there's more at work than weather on this island. So how about you help me find my body faster, and I help you get out of here?"

"Sorry, head-lass, but I make it a point not to work for free. Good luck with finding your body!" Buddy smiled before putting the head back where he found it and walking away without second thought. He had other things he could do, and he was not so close to the edge of sanity that a severed head for conversation would do him much good. He had an order of operations to work on for survival, starting with food.

Easy enough, being by the sea there were fish out in the waters. Further inland might be fruits in the trees, hopefully non-transformative ones, but Buddy knew how to make a makeshift fishing rod and how to get a fire started. He spent the day working on setting up a survival camp, a simple thing a bit inland so as not to compete with the high tide, with a clearing to give him just enough room for a safe fire and shelter from sticks, leaves, grass, and strips of plant matter to tie it together.

When he was a young boy his father had taught him a good number of things to survive in case he ever found himself shipwrecked. The village he was raised in back on Arda was home to many retired sailors and pirates, and Buddy always suspected his father might have been the former, though he never spoke of it. All the same, there were few moments in Buddy's life where such knowledge came in handy, and perhaps had he not an eidetic memory then all of that would have been lost to him, but he had a fire and a campsite set up by nightfall.

With the stars high in the sky on a surprisingly clear night given the hurricane not too far off, Buddy could finally figure out where North was and what to expect from the sea over the next short while.

Something. . . Well, the stars were. . . No, no. . . No.

Something was not right at all. Normally Holly had no problem with navigation, especially by the stars. Finding True North was a simple thing to do, but even that felt hazy to his mind. How was he supposed to make a raft and head back towards the Imythessian coastline if. . .

"Head!" Buddy shouted as he came to the quick realization of the severed head's words. She had done something, that damn bodiless Dullahan. Oh, he might not have those navigation skills of his to find his way on the sea, but he could follow the coast back to her unfortunately scarred visage.

He would not say hello. He would not ask questions. He had all the answers he needed.

No, instead he would grab that head by the hair , march to the edge of the water, and throw her as hard as he could out at the Moonsea with a primal yell of frustration.

Perhaps it would do little good in the long run, but for the short term it would make him feel better.

Silnimare laughed as she heard the pirate calling after her in frustration. She had, after all, been called much worse in the past. The rough lad grabbed her by the hair once more, and threw her out to the sea. As her head spun through the air, she chanted an incantation, feeling the mana reach out to the waters.

"Vatn, grípa mig í loftinu!"

A swell of water rose up, catching her head in its form, and guiding it back to the shore. Once more on the beach, her hair now making her look a drowned rat, in her mind, she once more addressed the frustrated man."Well, I suppose that means you learned what else can go wrong. I hope this means you've gotten it out of your system. Look, I'll be blunt with you. I'm afraid for my crew. I'll eventually come back together anyway, probably in a day or three, all depends on how far the pieces are. I'd rather speed that up, and get back to my people. I mean you no harm, and I can even reverse the effects on you, actually making it impossible for you to lose your way. All I ask is that you help a young lady find her curves again, is that too much to ask, handsome?"

She added a slightly flirtatious, slightly playful tone at the end, and waited for Buddy's reply patiently.

Almost as expected, the head washed up. He had assumed it would take quite a while longer with hos he threw it, but of course if this Dullahan had enough magic to take away his sense of direction, then she probably just used magic over the water to bring herself back. There was no telling how far her power extended just from such a trivial display, but all the same throwing her out at the sea made him feel slightly better about the situation. He had no intention of staying wherever this was for long.

"Oh, sweet talk won't get you anywhere, especially not when you've taken away a proud sailor's prized sense of the sea! Before? Before I was considering maybe helping you at least for someone to talk to, but I don't care for cheats, especially not sloppy ones!" He spat furiously, a finger outstretched towards her accusingly despite whatever ability she may or may not have to know it was even extended, let alone aimed at her, "If the parts of your body are coming back then I can always keep an eye out for them and keep you separated, maybe make cages for them and impale them in place, and yes I'd be that petty!"

Parts and pieces? The thought made Buddy stop and think for a bit which he disguised as simply turning and walking away to give himself space and time. Dullahan's bodies and heads were separate, but how did they work? He was fairly certain that heads could not reattach, nor could the rest of the parts. Yet, there was a certain type of undead that was rare but could cover it. Blasphemous liches or something along those lines. One pirate captain was such and his crew were his minions. That might explain this same head, but they were clearly different people. Once he had time to consider that, he returned, his nerves a bit calmed but still annoyed.

"I'm separated from my crew, too, but I've drilled into that lot how to go well without me, at least until I find them again. They need me only if they want to be running that ship for the long run, because it's me who has the mind that can lead them to riches." Buddy explained without saying exactly what sort of crew he had, still not sure who this person might sail for, herself, a business, or a government, "I just got swept off deck by some unnatural blast of water. I suppose that wasn't you if you're like this, but my crew and ship are clever enough to get out from under the heel of whoever was behind that storm. I suppose your crew isn't so clever. So let's try this again, shall we?

Silnimare closed her eyes, showing that the scars even ran the length of her eyelids. She sighed, before, answering Buddy's questions.

"Look, I did what I did out of desperation. I'm sorry."

Her eyes opened, and she reached out with her mind to grasp at the enchantment she had placed. Instead of removing it, she reversed it, giving Buddy an infallible sense of direction.

"There. Now your sense of direction is better than before. I won't enchant you again. To be honest, I'm afraid, and I was hoping for some help, rather than sitting on the beach, waiting for my flesh to slowly return to me. If you don't want to help me, that's okay. What do I have to offer? A lot, but I have no idea if any of it would interest you. What do you want, stranger?"

Her expression was one of genuine regret, and her blind eyes almost seemed to look at him in hope, but much more detectable was the fallen demeanor, as she realized how bad her situation now was.

Skeptical, Buddy looked to the stars above to gauge direction. Sure enough it came back in a flash, the magic gone or improving his sense by her claims. To gauge something like this was vague, but perhaps it would help more in the daytime. For right now, the blonde captain was just happy to be able to tell direction again. When his raft was done he could set sail if need be, but he would feel awful silly if he found himself cast upon the Imythessian shore and he could have just taken a short excursion to get to a proper port.

That left him with nothing but the head to address. Desperation was a trait of weakness and chaos that could undue even the most airtight plans. Whoever this head was, she did not instill a sense of confidence within the pirate, even as a head. Tactically, at least, she must have been the sort to prefer brute force tactics.

"Such acts are how you get mutinies from good crews. Doesn't matter how strong, tough, or clever a captain if the crew detests them, because the best-case scenario is them all jumping ship when they get to port." Buddy scolded softly, his eyes narrowing at the blind features of the severed head. Still, he had no idea who she was, if she worked for anybody, or what she could be able to pay him with. It would be a shame if he missed a glorious opportunity, "I'll sleep on it. If I decide to help you, then we can talk about price tomorrow. Sea's still left me sore from tossing me about like a log, so I'm tired. Try not to head anywhere."

With that, Buddy departed once more to his makeshift campsite to rest and reset, to give himself a night of uncomfortable rest to help him tackle solutions.

The next day, Buddy had almost forgotten about the head, but he had not forgotten about wanting to check out the perimeter of where he had washed ashore. If it was a shore of either an inhabited island or a continent, then it should only be a healthy jaunt to finding at least a homey little dock of civilization, but if it was uninhabited by any civilized society, then there would be problems. He made sure to get dressed in his dried clothes, no more walking about naked with risk of his pale skin getting a nasty sunburn, mostly sticking to the tree line as he tested out that sense of direction while still keeping near the water.

He lost track of time, but eventually he happened across something that he had definitely not been expecting. It was an unfortunate piece of gore, stripped of all limbs and heads, and worse yet it was wriggling. There was a small matter of it being naked, but to Buddy that just highlighted the damage. Some old scars and bits of decoloration, electrical damage the likes of which the captain had seen to unfortunate victims of certain annoyed pirates, along with bits of small damage here and there likely accrued from its trip asea. Admittedly, there was a rather nice tattoo focused on the spine, but it hardly detracted from the rest of the corpse in such a state.

Buddy stopped, clutching the bridge of his nose and inhaling deeply as he considered the oddity of a sight. He both understood it as a boon to his dealings with the Dullahan, or perhaps she was a Blasphemer, but either way it did not alleviate the obnoxiousness. After a moment adjusting mentally, he focused on the possibilities-- well, at least the possibilities he would entertain.

"Alright, come on with me, torso!" He said, reaching over to pick up the everything-less body, which for him took a bit of effort considering his focus was tactics and agility rather than strength and lifting, (since that was what he had a crew for,) "Off to help you get ahead in life. Don't wriggle to much."

Some time heaving that body around and eventually Buddy would find the missing head, also confirming the island as enclosed, with no others within immediate sight. He plopped the body unceremoniously to the ground, a bit out of breath but undeterred by his less-than-macho arrival to what could prove to be a wonderful business partner going forward.

"Look what I found!" The captain breathed heavily, straightening his stance before crouching before the head, "A front payment of good faith as we discuss business. Now, walk me through what you have to offer in turn. Note, I'll bloody well hold you to whatever we work out."

"I take care of my men. I take it from your mercenary attitude and knowledge of leading a crew, you're a pirate. But to be fair, I asked before I did anything. Only when I was told I needed something to barter did I take something to barter with. But I understand. I hope to see you tomorrow."

As buddy walked away, she shifted her focus to her body parts, willing them to slowly return to her. She knew it could take time, but she had that in spades, owing to a lack of any need for sustenance or sleep.

She could feel the sun rising after a long night of effort. She let herself relax somewhat, until she was shocked to sense life near a piece. It felt like a... torso, maybe? She could see the life around the body, so it wasn't an undead.

Wait. No, no no no no....

It was Buddy. She saw him, glowing with yellow light, pick up her torso, and begin carrying it. All manner of horrid and depraved scenarios ran through her mind. But surprisingly, he carried it straight to her. He lumped it on the ground, before asking what she could offer.

Silnimare willed her head to move, utilizing her telekinetic magic, until her neck neared the appropriate stump on her body. As soon as the pieces touched, bits of tendon began to reach out and connect. It wasn't perfect, but it would do while the rest rebuilt. She once more lifted herself, now upright, and called upon the water and ice in the very air, forming a thin but opaque layer of ice to cover her nakedness.

"As for what I can offer, I have a knack for the water, as I'm sure you no doubt noticed. I can command it, shape it, and use it. I'm also a healer. No doubt useful for someone in our... predicament? I have other gifts, but I would advise you to pray you never see them."

Buddy gave an unintentionally big and audible yawn to the head's explanations of what she was capable of. While the healing bit from an undead being was a tad interesting, it was hardly a problem if he avoided getting hurt by anything that would wish to cause him undue harm. As for the water control, that might expedite travel a bit, but he would not need to rely on such a thing if he wanted to get anywhere.

"I'm not yawning at you, surely, just your lack of imagination. I'm not a pirate, though you're hitting close with the mercenary and ship bits. I'm a merchant, got a crew capable of handling pirates in case they think to brandish their blades. You should stop by us at the docks if you've got the coin-- or notes, since apparently that's making the rounds. Odd thing, no weight to paper like coin." Strictly speaking, not entirely a lie. His crew was absolutely more than capable of handling the competition, but all the same a pirate could hardly just horde what they got, but instead he turned it around and saw those good put to profit in the shadier part of Taras. As far as anybody not so privy to piracy was concerned, he really was just some clever merchant on the seas, going from port to port selling and buying wares, though any investigation would note he and his crew bought little in Taras save for some smithing work, "What's your work, then, lass? Must be something you can offer of real worth. Clearly something to do with ships, even if you're fresh at having a crew."

"Oh, you need to spend more time around merchants, lass, especially near Joubert's harbor. At least more time in the Navy, because even if you're a captain so young, you are clearly new to the sea and her people, probably to the world if you're acting so innocent." Buddy said, hardly phased by the frosted wings, though now it seemed a possibility that she could just flutter off like a blind butterfly, he could not help but wonder why she did not attempt such a thing before with her head. More importantly, he could work with being stranded on an island with some junior captain, no matter her capabilities she seemed like she might be a case of nepotism, probably brute forcing her way through even the Navy's problems. Not a bad mindset for the Navy, but the bar was rather lower to lead than for pirates, "Now I've an idea what you can do for me, but yes, I think we could parlay. For now, though, just let me know when your parts wash up on the island and I'll be sure to gather them up for you. Now. . ."

He straightened his posture as he cut himself off, winding up for a moment before tackling the torso and beginning to walk back towards his camp with his new partner in escaping the island, "Let's get you to camp. It's about time I started working on the raft! We've got good weather ahead of us, and I don't want to be caught out by some nasty weather further than I can see!"